The Sampa Family New Year’s Party Drink Guide

New Year’s parties are great. They are fun and festive. They are boozy. And they mark the end of interminable Family Holiday Time.

I’ll drink to that. And so can you. Here are some of our favorite holiday bevies that will most certainly guarantee you will think you are singing Auld Lang Syne in perfect pitch come midnight.

Rudolph’s Revenge

1 1/4 oz light rum
1 ice cube
1 1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz grenadine
1 lemon wedge
Cranberry juice

Mix the light rum, lemon juice, and grenadine. Add the ice cube and fill to your own taste with cranberry juice. Add a wedge of lemon on your glass and voila! After a couple of these, Rudolph won’t even remember why he was pissed off in the first place. And you won’t either. Cheers!

Three Wise Men

1/2 oz Bourbon whiskey
1/2 oz Tennessee whiskey
1/2 oz Scotch whiskey

Pour these three elixirs into a shot class in whichever order you want. The original three wise men were said to have brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to baby Jesus. This version grants you the temporary belief that you are a great dancer, a sneaking desire to have a couple more, and a blissful headache the next morning.

Sleigh Ride

1 oz tequila
1 oz green chartreuse
1 oz grenadine

Pour the grenadine into a small goblet. Spoon the green chartreuse in gently, without allowing it to mix. Follow with an equally gentle splash of tequila. You now have the hybrid of the Bulgarian flag and your ticket to Fun Town.

Mrs. Sampa’s Famous Appletini

2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Apple Pucker Schnapps (for that delightful green color)

Mix these bad boys into a martini glass and say hello to a whole evening of tongue puckering sour-y goodness. You can use apple cider or apple juice, but you will miss out on the delightful artificial color and additives. So it’s up to you. Note: You can also garnish with slices of apples. Sometimes the apples soak up some of the vodka. And then you nibble on those. All. Night. Long.

Hot Buttered Rum

1 stick soft unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Pinch cloves
Pinch salt
1 bottle dark rum
Boiling water

Cream together the butter, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a bowl. Refrigerate until nearly firm. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into 12 small mugs (or more butter into one giant pitcher just for you). Pour in rum until about half-full. Top with boiling water (to fill the remaining half), stir well, and serve immediately. Have a mug of this when you are supposed to be drinking a cup of tea the next morning during clean up. You naughty Sampa mom you.

Ritz Fizzy

1 oz blue Curacao
1 oz Amaretto di Saronno
1 oz lemon juice
Champagne
Curly lemon rinds

Pour the blue Curacao, Amaretto, and lemon juice in a tall class. Top off with fizzy champagne and decorate with the lemon curly. It’s just so pretty. And fizzy. And good. And fizzy. Whee!

Keep in mind ladies and gents, these drinks do not need to wait until the New Year, a party, or even the sun to go down. If the Holiday Spirit (aka tiresome family expectations) are getting you down, review our Sampa Family Holiday Survival Guide and whip up one of the above. It’ll all be over soon.